Rihanna: Is the Bitch Better Have My Money singer classy enough for Dior?

Oscar-winner Charlize Theron had been the face of the designer fashion brand for 10 years but Diamonds songstress Rihanna has now made her debut as the new ambassador for Dior.

Filmed at the historic Palace of Versailles, the FourFiveSeconds singer dazzles and glistens in her first advert for the Parisian brand's Secret Garden campaign.

Directed by Steven Klein, the minute-long clip sees the 27-year-old dancing around the Palace's beautiful gardens at night while modelling an array of the fashion house's designs including the Diorama bag.

The Grammy-winner saunters down the iconic Hall Of Mirrors, where Charlize Theron filmed the J'Adore perfume advert, and shimmies around in a stunning sequinned gown.

Providing the haunting soundtrack and complementing the promo clip's dark and moody tone is Rihanna's new song Only If For A Night, which is expected to feature on her forthcoming eighth studio album.

Watch Rihanna's Dior advert:

Gushing over his new muse, Klein said of the campaign: "Rihanna's mystery and intrigue combined with her razor-sharp looks and sensibility are the essential, perfect elements to create the stage for Secret Garden."

Discussing her iconic new venture, RiRi told MTV News in March: "It feels fantastic. It is such a big deal for me, for my culture, for a lot of young girls of any colour.

"I think, to be acknowledged by Dior is just... it means a lot as a woman to feel beautiful, and elegant, and timeless."

Watch Charlize Theron's J'Adore Dior perfume advert:

Indeed, the Bajan singer is incredibly the first black spokesperson to front the fashion brand but she is also of a slightly different calibre to previous ambassadors.

Fans are more accustomed to seeing "good girl gone bad" RiRi prancing around the stage scantily-clad or heading to a restaurant for dinner with her nipples on show.

Which is why when lined-up next to Academy Award-winning actresses like Natalie Portman, Jennifer Lawrence and Theron who have all fronted Dior in the past, Rihanna seems the more risque option for the luxury fashion house.

That is not to say Jay Z's protégé is the wrong choice as, in fact, recent developments suggest the singer is trying to clean up her image when away from the stage.

Yes, RiRi is still pleasing her Navy with unapologetic songs like Bitch Better Have My Money but she will then shock critics by covering up at the Met Gala and keeping her figure under wraps in an exquisite Guo Pei gown.

Cocaine allegations aside, the chart-topper's Instagram account is also a much quieter place since she made a dramatic return in November 2014 – she originally quit the social media website three months before when a topless photo of her was taken down.

If Rihanna is giving her image a classy overhaul, joining forces with Dior is certainly the way to do it.